why do we have to have new car models, and lots of them every year? a lot of energy is consumed in the process of redesign, new tooling and the manufacturing of steel and new castings. my idea is to manufacture is to standardize annual models and construct them out of materials that will be efficient, such as stainless steel. cars should be viewed as an appliance that is reliable, fuel efficient, people friendly and gets you from point a to point b. all controls should be standardized….there is nothing worse than being caught in a rain storm in a rental car trying to figure out how to turn the lights and wipers on. replacement parts for cars are remanufactured, so why not remanufacture the whole car?? we don’t find the airlines throwing their planes away after 5 years. so when your car is worn out, you just take it back to the dealer and buy a remanufactured car for a fraction of the cost of a new one. not only would a lot of energy be saved, we would also eliminate those unsightly junk yards.